My Charmed Mom

Live & Thrive

The Bridge and Some Facts

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When I first went to San Francisco I was in awe and quite amazed with the architecture and longevity of the Golden Gate Bridge. This bridge is the famous landmark for this city by the bay which also served as the entrance from Pacific Ocean to San Francisco Bay. This Bridge which was built in 1933 only took 4 years to build, I guess during that time tapcon fasteners are not yet so famous or the builders must have used some alternatives.

In 2003 it was estimated that the approximate cost to construct a new Golden Gate Bridge would be $1.2 billion, but still the total amount will depend on the cost of labor and materials including united abrasives grinding wheels plus the environmental reviews as well. The fabricated steel used in the construction was manufactured by steel pants located in New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Imagine that these plants were located on the other side of the United States and how they were able to transport it to the West Coast, actually, the steel was loaded in rail cars from Philadelphia and was shipped using the Panama Canal to San Francisco. 

Funny thing is that on its opening day in 1937, the San Francisco Chronicle referred to it as the 35-Million Dollar Steel Harp, maybe because of its appearance. Also upon its completion, the project's Chief Engineer, Joseph B. Strauss wrote a poem "The Mighty Task is Done". Overall in its existence, the Bridge has just been closed three times, in 1951 for three hours, in 1982 for almost two hours and 1983 for 3 hours and 27 minutes, the longest period of being closed in its history. All of these incidents are due to weather conditions, as gusting winds reach 69 miles per hour and above, the Bridge is closed to prevent structural damage.

Did you find these facts interesting?

 

 

Information Source : http://goldengatebridge.org/research/facts.php

Comments

  4. Pam says

    Thanks, I did find these facts interesting. I have seen the bridge several times on vacation and I am always in awe of how magnificent it is. I love San Francisco and the surrounding area and the bridge is just one of many beautiful attractions.

  5. Emily says

    Thanks for the educational lesson about the Golden Gate Bridge! I don't live too far from there and have always thought it was beautiful and fascinating!

  6. Monica says

    That is very interesting.  I've never been out to the west coast, but if I ever do make it out that way I think the Golden Gate Bridge will be a sight to see.

    • Charmed Mom says

      You should, if ever you will just give me a heads up we’re like 45 mins from San Francisco..

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